Dinner and a movie

I’ve always been an adventurous person. As a kid I would explore the bush, climb buildings and was a general tomboy. I loved trying new things, and going new places, but one thing I never did was do these things alone. I’m a people person, and with the exception of shopping, I like to do new things with others, and if I haven’t got people to go out with, I do my own thing at home.

I decided this week to challenge myself and go out on my own and do something typically done by couples, or two or more people. Dinner and a movie.

I love a good rom-com, and I LOVE Josh Duhamel, so decided to see Safe Haven. As I walked up to the ticket booth I was expecting a strange look from the ticket guy as I ordered a ticket for one, but to by surprise there was none. I procrastinated going into the restaurant for a bit, searching for a book to read while I sat by myself, but it hit 6pm and the shops closed, so I went to the restaurant and asked for a table of one.

If I didn’t already feel self conscious that I was about to eat dinner in a restaurant alone, when they seated me at a four seater booth that was against the window facing out to the crowded bus stop area, I started feeling more anxious.

I made a rule that I wasn’t allowed to use my phone for the duration of the night, so as I sat down I set an alarm so I knew when the movie was going to start and put it away. I ordered my food and then sat there for what felt like an eternity waiting for it. It was probably only 20 minutes, but with nothing to keep me occupied I actually felt like I was going crazy. I looked around the restaurant aimlessly for a while, and got a few strange looks from the bartender and rummaged through my handbag several times looking for something to read. By the time my food arrived I was so excited to have something to do, that I started shoveling my souvlaki plate into my mouth probably the fastest I've ever eaten. It was about 5 minutes into eating that my alarm started going off and simultaneously I was hit with the world’s worst indigestion pains. I got the rest of my food to take away and headed back to the cinema.

I got lucky and was in one of the ex silver screen cinemas, so I had a nice big comfy chair, and was only sharing the cinema with two couples and a small group of friends. I actually really enjoyed the movie, and it worked in my favour being alone because nobody was there to see me shed tears at the sad bit in the end.

I'm sure there is a fluffy quote or something that goes along the lines of "You can't be happy with someone else if you're not happy by yourself." So that was my motivation for this week and even though the food wasn't bad and I really enjoyed the movie, what I learnt is that I can be perfectly happy by myself without needing to sit in a restaurant eating dinner alone. Oh, and not to eat so fast, as the pain lasted until I woke up the next morning.

Dinner: 4/10
Movie 8/10